Karaoke
by moeexyz
Summary: The group goes to a karaoke bar for Annie's 21st birthday. Jeff/Annie with a pinch of Troy/Britta


_**A/N** - I have important exams in less than two weeks...which means I've been doing everything but study for the last couple of days! This is from a Ficcy Friday prompt on M/M._

_**Disclaimer: **I do not own Community or any of the songs sung by the characters. Though all of those things are awesome.  
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**Karaoke**

"Okay, so everyone don't forget, you guys meet outside the bar at 8 so you can get good seats for us."

"Annie," Britta began, as the group all packed away their books to head out for the day, "we know. You've mentioned it eight times today. _And _we also got your e-vites. And formal invitation letters. And the messages on Facebook. And at one point today, I think Quendra with a Q-U came up to me and asked if I was going to your birthday party."

"I know. I'm just saying, karaoke's no fun if you can't see the whole show," Annie said.

"Karaoke's no fun at all," Jeff drawled. Shirley gave him a head shake that he ignored.

"Gees, Jeff. Be a bigger Britta why don't you?" Britta shot at him. Jeff gave her a mildly amused frown.

"Guys, now's not the time okay. Just go get ready, and be there at 8 to surprise me," Annie clarified, before rushing out the door to get home. She really didn't have time for their shenanigans. She had a party to get ready for.

"I really don't get why we're still doing the whole surprise thing if she organized the party for herself," Pierce said, once she was gone.

"She likes planning things," Troy shrugged.

"It's our gift to her," Shirley finished for him.

"Wait, so I didn't have to get her an actual present?" Pierce asked. He gave each person in the group a questioning look, but they all just rolled their eyes at him and walked out of the study room. "Just because you ignore me, doesn't mean I'll stop asking questions," He called out after them.

((()))

Annie could feel her stomach rumbling anxiously as she pulled up to the bar. She'd been planning this day practically since the semester started. Twenty-one was supposed to be one of those milestone ages, and considering how she'd spent her eighteenth birthday high on Adderall, this one had to go well. She didn't doubt it would, but there were a lot of people from Greendale coming, not to mention these things never worked out the way she expected them too. Still, she couldn't help but be excited.

She walked out of her car, and she could feel her heart grow faster and faster with each step she took. She wondered if she'd told Abed to switch off the lights before she arrived and they surprised her. She really wasn't sure. _No, Annie! _It was too late for that. She needed to stop panicking about her party and just start enjoying it. There was a bunch of people who loved her waiting inside that bar. Who cared if everything didn't go according to plan?

She swallowed down the voice inside her head reminding her that she was the one who cared, and took three tentative steps into the bar. It was dark. She smiled. Good old Abed.

"Surprise!" Everyone shouted, as the lights flickered on.

The group was at a large table in the middle of the bar, all wearing party hats with her face on them. They all had matching _Happy Birthday, Annie!_ t-shirts in either pink, or black, (in Jeff and Britta's case. Go figure.)

The rest of the Greendale student body were sitting at different tables around the bar, in their separate cliques. Some had hats, some hat t-shirts. Leonard was even wearing an Annie mask, which was just plain creepy.

As much as Annie had spent almost every waking moment planning this, she hadn't thought of hats and t-shirts. It really was a treasure being friends with Troy and Abed sometimes.

She beamed at all of them, jumping excitedly and running to the study group to give them all a hug.

"This is the best surprise ever!" She exclaimed with glee.

"Thank god. For a minute there we thought one of us might have given it away," Jeff teased.

She glared at him, but it was betrayed by her smile. He blew a party popper at her, hitting her lightly in the nose.

"Happy birthday," He said.

She grinned. "It will be."

((()))

Once everyone got settled in it took Shirley approximately five seconds to hop on the stage and start singing. This was no surprise to the group considering what a diva she had turned out to be during their glee experience.

"Wow, she really likes the spotlight," Britta noted.

"Of course. She's our Mercedes," Abed said.

Pierce scoffed beside him, and leaned over to Jeff, covering his mouth so Abed wouldn't see. "And I'm the racist," He mumbled.

"I know, it shocks me too," Jeff humoured him.

Pierce gave him a serious nod.

"Drinks are here!" Troy announces, as he reached the table with the group's first round. He placed sodas in front of everyone and took the empty seat beside Abed.

"Thanks, Troy. And guys, can I just say, I know how much some of you wanted to drink tonight," She gave Britta and Jeff a very, not at all subtle look, "but I would like to remind you again what happened at Troy's birthday."

"Annie, we know. I told you, we got the Facebook messages."

"And the _List of Things Not to do at Annie's Tasteful Birthday Gathering_," Jeff said, quoting the title of one of the many mass emails Annie had sent them.

Annie relaxed a little. "I know, just making sure."

"An-nie! Come up and sing with me!" Shirley called to her from the stage.

Annie grinned at the rest of her friends before rushing off to the stage.

Once she was out of earshot, Troy turned to the group. "We spiked everyone's drink except Shirley's and Annie's," He told them quietly, sharing a look of mischief with Abed.

"Guys, what about Annie's rules?" Britta nagged.

"Gees, Britta. Be a bigger Britta why don't you?" Jeff said, mimicking her earlier insult. "There is no way I can sit through _this _school singing, and not drink alcohol." He raised his glass to Troy and Abed, "You guys are true friends." Both men tapped their drinks with his, and sipping the soda up from their straws. Jeff quickly gulped his down, grinning afterward.

While Jeff was busy, they shared a look with Britta, who winked back them. Both men smiled and high-fived under the table. Everything was going according to plan.

((()))

Annie and Shirley burned through the first 14 songs on the karaoke machine before her throat started to hurt every time she breathed, and Star-Burns shooed them away so he could have a go at singing Aerosmith. Shirley somehow managed to sneak back on stage and sing with him. It was as bad as Annie expected it to be, but she was already having so much fun that she didn't really care about them murdering _Shot Through the Heart_.

When she returned to the table, Troy and Britta were reading through the book with all the song choices, picking out duets for them to sing together.

"What about that one?" Troy suggested.

"_Breaking Free," _Britta read out loud. She gave him a flat, "Really?"

"I'd make a good Zac Efron, you know," Troy told her. "Abed even said so."

Abed made a shooting gun motion towards his best friend.

"Abed said I'd make a good Pacey Witter; he clearly has no idea what he's talking about," Jeff scoffed. Abed raised his eyebrows, but otherwise did not respond.

"I don't know, you're both pretty gay," Pierce mumbled.

"And _you_ both practically admitted to watching Dawson's Creek, who's gay now?" Britta fired at them.

Pierce shrugged, nonchalantly. "Still Jeff."

Jeff rolled his eyes, and moved to take a sip of his fourth soda of the night. He missed the straw the first time, and only once he got it in his mouth did he realize that he'd long finished the drink. "Troy!" He exclaimed holding up his glass and shaking it, "Refill?" He gave him a sloppy wink, which wasn't missed by anyone. Especially not Annie.

"Have you been drinking?" Annie asked him, as Troy walked away with Jeff's glass.

Jeff made a lawyer face that said _are you seriously asking me that question?_ but it wasn't as successful as usual, considering how intoxicated he was.

"Jeff!" Annie whined. "I told you not to drink! That was rule numbed twelve on _List of Things Not to do at Annie's Tasteful Birthday Gathering!_"

Jeff continued acting incredulous. "I didn't even...Annie, c'mon...Troy and Abed said...I _hate _karaoke...and Pierce was doing it too!" He managed to spit out, after much trouble.

"Pierce!" Annie exclaimed angrily, taking his glass from his hands and drinking up through the straw. She was not gonna let them ruin her birthday with their silly drinking games.

Across the table Abed shot Britta a wide-eyed look of panic. She nodded to him and stood up quickly, pulling Jeff by the arm. "Come on, buddy. Let's see if Troy needs any help with those drinks," She said to him, in a doting voice.

Jeff shrugged her hand away. "I'm not drunk, Britta," Annie could hear him say as the two walked towards the bar.

"Annie, can I have my drink back?" Pierce asked.

Annie finally realized that she'd been taking sips of Pierce's drink for a while now. But there was no alcohol in it. "Was he lying to me?" She asked Abed.

Abed looked to the bar where Troy and Britta were having some lively conversation which Jeff seemed to really be into. He smiled and leaned in towards Annie.

"We didn't want Jeff to spend the entire night complaining about how much he hated karaoke, so I calculated just how many drinks it would take for him to let down his cool guy facade, but stop him from becoming a complete douche," He explained. He looked back towards the bar where Troy, Britta, and Jeff had now vanished. "We figured he'd be sort of annoying, but it would be worth it for the outcome."

"What outcome?" Annie asked.

A familiar voice came from the speakers around the bar. "Troy, no! I don't wanna sing! Karaoke is lame!" Annie looked to the stage. Shirley and Star-Burns were no longer rocking out. Instead, Troy and Britta, were blocking Jeff from exiting the stage and trying to convince him to sing. They were saying something to him, but they weren't close enough to the microphone for Annie to hear.

"I already got her a present!" Jeff exclaimed, loudly. It was made ten times louder from the mic in front of him.

Britta said something, waving her arms about. Troy pointed at the TV with the lyrics.

"Guys, I'm no-" Jeff began, but he caught a glimpse of the TV and grinned. "Oh, I love that song."

Troy and Britta high-fived with both hands. "Alright, I'll do one," Jeff said, holding his index finger right in front of Britta's face. Troy nodded to the karaoke guy, and he and Britta stepped off the stage to let Jeff take over.

Jeff face the crowd who had been watching the scene play out, taking the microphone. "Hello, Greendale!" He shouted causing the mic to make horrible high-pitched noises. Jeff winced then slowly brought the mic to his lips again. "Sorry about that folks, I've been told I'm a little tipsy tonight."

He stepped to the left of the stage, where Neil and Vicki sat. "So how's everyone's night going? Pretty good?" He got a mild cheer form the crowd.

"Okay, not very lively," He noted. "Okay! Normally, I don't do karaoke because I have a reputation to uphold" He said, shrugging confidently. "However, like I said, I'm pretty tipsy tonight. Also, tonight's special because it's my very good friend's birthday!"

He pointed to the table where the study group was sitting; right at Annie. Annie blushed, as soon as everyone's eyes fell on her. She could hear Shirley going "Oh, that's nice!" From a table near the stage.

"Anyway," Jeff continued, clearing his throat loudly so everyone's attention was back on him. He gave her a look that she imagined was a sloppy drunken version of a smolder. "This is for you, Milady," His voice was low. Then he did a quick turn on stage and pointed to the karaoke guy, who looked less than pleased to be working there. "Hit it, guy!"

The sound began to fill the room, and Jeff placed the mic back on its stand, smirking right at the study group's table. Right at Annie.

"_There was a girl named Annieeeeeeeeeee-"_

Annie began to blush realizing what it was he was going to sing. She'd heard this song before, many times. It was hard to miss a song that had your name as its title.

"_-she had a very pretty face-"_

Jeff honestly couldn't make this more embarrassing for her if he tried. Annie glanced at Abed, who was smirking with that puppet-master smirk he sometimes wore. He had planned this. They all planned this except for her and Jeff. And as much as she wanted to hide, she also couldn't help herself from beaming at him, standing on that stage like the big idiot that he was.

_"-and not the way you would think sooooooooo, let me see if I can try to explain it!" _His voice went high and broke when he sung that part. He was clearly too drunk to sing the song in tune, let alone a song with such high notes. Still he was trying.

He coughed, ignoring the fact that his vocal chords clearly did not agree with him, and continued on.

"_She had a smile that could light up a room, and if she moved it'd be moving you, but it wasn't like a magazine; she was just plain Jane, and her name-"_ He pointed at her again, and winked. "_-was Annieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!"_

The guitar started playing in the background. Jeff took the mic from it's stand, and began jumping up and down, and bopping his head like some metal obsessed teenager from the '90s. Annie brought her hands to her mouth to stop herself from outright laughing at him. He was being ridiculous. Really, adorably, ridiculous.

While everyone watched Jeff bounce about, she could feel Abed staring at her, for her reaction. That manipulative mastermind. He looked to Troy and Britta who were still beside the stage, grinning at Jeff. He loved it when a plan worked out.

_"She never looked in the mirror, she never liked what she would see; and even if I tried to tell her, she'd never listen to a word I'd say-"_ Jeff jumped to the side of the stage, pulling Britta back up from the audience and twirling her around. Britta spun, landing into Troy who'd jumped up to rescue her from crazy, drunken, Jeff. Jeff gave them suggestive nod and hopped away to the other end of the stage.

_"-she always wanted what she never had, but never had what she needed so badly!"_ While Troy and Britta awkwardly untangled themselves, Jeff jumped from the stage down to where Shirley was. He waltzed her around in circles, until she was tangled in the microphone chord. Before she could untangle herself, he'd already jumped away like a hyper-active kid on speed.

"_Some one telling her she was fine, and that's not right, and it's why I'm saying-"_ He ran past the crowd of Greendalians to the study table. Stopping right in front of Annie.

_"-Annie don't be shy here, Annie don't just lie there; looks don't make the world go round, but it comes around! And Annie don't be shy here, Annie please don't cry here; I always have to stop myself-"_

Behind her Annie could hear Pierce muttering something about _gay_, but she really didn't care for his opinion at that moment. Jeff was literally serenading her.

"_'Cause you're beautiful!"_

While the guitar played a tiny riff, Jeff ran back to the stage. Untangling Shirley in a swift move before clumsily jumping back up. He didn't land well and seemed to fall on the stage. There was a collective "Oh!" from the crowd, and everyone stood to see if he was okay. A few lines of the song went unsung, but Jeff jumped up with as much energy as before, and carried on without shame.

_"-Took her moments of feeling alive, and made them moments of dying inside; she needed some one to scream her name, to take her pain, and that's why I'm screaming, Annie don't be shy here, Annie don't just lie there; looks don't make the world go round, but it comes around! And Annie don't be shy here, _Annie please don't cry here!_"_ He shouted the last few lines, passionately. He was really getting into the sound at this point. _"I always have to stop myself, 'cause you're beautiful!"_

_"And Annieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee-"_ He pointed at Britta and made some failed flicking gesture with his hand. Britta seemed to understand and took out a lighter, flicking it on and swaying it in the air. Annie giggled from her seat.

_"-you are the one sight my eyes never tire of, it's like I cannot get enough of you," _Jeff met her eyes across the room, making sure she knew all of this was for her. Only her. He smiled and his expression softened along with his voice. And just like that Annie forgot about everything else. She forgot about the perfect party, and the silly _List of Things Not to do at Annie's Tasteful Birthday Gathering_. She forgot that this was all Abed's master plan. She forgot everything, and focused on Jeff, watching her from the stage while he sang her name off tune.

_"Annieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee, you are the one song left in my symphony, like you were made for me!"_

Somewhere at the back of the bar, some one began clapping to the beat. Next to the stage Troy and Britta joined in. Soon everyone was clapping. Everyone but Annie, who was feeling too many things to react.

_"Annie don't be shy here, Annie don't just lie there; looks don't make the world go round, but it comes around! And Annie don't be shy here, Annie please don't cry here; I always have to stop myself! Have to stop myself! _Have to stop myself!"

The guitar played on, and Troy hopped on stage, doing a mean air-guitar at Jeff's side. Jeff grinned at his friend, finally breaking concentration form his song_._

_"'Cause you are beautiful!"_ He sang, and something in his eyes told Annie that he was singing with all his sincerity.

"_There was a girl named Annieeeeeeeeeee, she had a very pretty face."_

The song finished. The bar stood quickly, clapping and cheering for Jeff loudly. Troy took a bow by Jeff's side but Jeff ignored everyone. He handed Troy the mic and walked off stage strolling right past Britta's praise up to Abed, Pierce, and finally Annie at the study group table.

"Okay, I'm pretty drunk. Feel free to yell at me," He said. He waved his arms to his side in surrender. Instead of yelling like he'd asked, Annie jumped on him and gave him a tight hug.

"That was the best birthday present I've ever gotten," She said, right in his ear. She could feel him sigh into her body, and slowly bring his arms around her waist.

"Really? 'Cause karaoke's lame," He slurred into her hair. She could feel his breath on her head. Pulling away slowly she saw him smile lazily down at her.

"Thank you," She told him sincerely, and leaned up on her toes, giving him a light kiss. Their lips barely touched before she stood down again. She looked up at him through her lashes, with a self-conscious grin.

Jeff shrugged. "Maybe, it's not so bad."

She hugged him again, resting her head against his chest. His hand ran through her hair. Troy and Britta rejoined the group, and from the stage Annie could hear Shirley and Garett fighting over whose turn it was to sing. They pulled away and took their seats at the table, still grinning at each other.

"Dude, that was awesome!" Troy said, giving Jeff a pat on the back.

"Yeah, you've got some pipes," Britta added, despite the fact that Jeff's singing was far from good.

Jeff smirked at them and looked to Annie. "Happy birthday."

"Yes," She beamed, "it is."


End file.
